Systems and methods for providing a library of virtual images in a software provisioning environment

ABSTRACT

A provisioning server can maintain a library of virtual images. The virtual images can be a disk image of software that has been previously installed according to metadata. The metadata can represent parameters utilized to create the virtual image and the parameters required to provision the virtual image on a target machine. The provisioning server can maintain the metadata for a virtual image in a virtual image record associated with the virtual image. The provisioning server can provision a virtual image to one or more target machines. To provision the virtual image, the provisioning server can copy the virtual image to a storage device on the one or more target machines and configure the target machine according to metadata in the associated virtual image record.

FIELD

This invention relates generally to software provisioning. In particular, the invention relates to systems and methods for providing, maintaining, and provisioning virtual images in a software provisioning environment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Software provisioning is the process of selecting a target machine, such as a server, loading the appropriate software (operating system, device drivers, middleware, and applications), and customizing and configuring the system and the software to make it ready for operation. Software provisioning can entail a variety of tasks, such as creating or changing a boot image, specifying parameters, e.g. IP address, IP gateway, to find associated network and storage resources, and then starting the machine and its newly-loaded software. Typically, a system administrator will perform these tasks using various tools because of the complexity of these tasks. Unfortunately, there is a lack of provisioning control tools that can adequately integrate and automate these tasks.

For most software provisioning, the software being installed must be customized and configured for each system in order to make it ready for operation. This installation processes must be repeated multiple times for a large network of systems. Often, the same or identical software is the subject of the installation process and must be installed in, and configured for, each system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various features of the embodiments can be more fully appreciated, as the same become better understood with reference to the following detailed description of the embodiments when considered in connection with the accompanying figures, in which;

FIG. 1 illustrates an overall provisioning environment in which various embodiments of the present teachings can be practiced;

FIG. 2 illustrates the overall provisioning environment in which a provisioning server can provide virtual images to target machines, according to various embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary hardware configuration for a provisioning server, according to various embodiments; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart for providing and provisioning virtual images, according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of the present invention are described by referring mainly to exemplary embodiments thereof. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize that the same principles are equally applicable to, and can be implemented in, all types of information and systems, and that any such variations do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the present invention. Moreover, in the following detailed description, references are made to the accompanying figures, which illustrate specific embodiments. Electrical, mechanical, logical and structural changes may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Embodiments of the present teachings relate to systems and methods for providing and provisioning virtual images in a software provisioning environment. More particularly, a provisioning server can maintain a library of virtual images and perform provisioning process on target machines utilizing the virtual images.

According to embodiments, the provisioning server can be configured to maintain a library of virtual images. The virtual images can be a disk image of software that has been previously installed according to metadata. The metadata can represent parameters utilized to create the virtual image and the parameters required to provision the virtual image on a target machine. The provisioning server can be configured to maintain the metadata for a virtual image in a virtual image record associated with the virtual image.

According to embodiments, the provisioning server can be configured to provision a virtual image to one or more target machines. To provision the virtual image, the provisioning server can be configured to copy the virtual image to a storage device on the one or more target machines and configure the target machine according to metadata in the associated virtual image record. The provisioning server can be configured to provision and instantiate the virtual image directly or instruct a helper client to provision and instantiate the virtual image.

According to embodiments, the provisioning server can be configured to generate the virtual images and store the virtual images in the library of virtual images. Additionally, the provisioning server can be configured to create the virtual image record from the metadata associated with the virtual image. Likewise, the provisioning server can be configured to receive the virtual image, metadata, and/or virtual image record from an external source.

By utilizing a virtual image to deliver software, the provisioning server can install an instance of software once, create the virtual image, and clone the virtual image on any number of target machines. Because the virtual image includes the software in an installed state, the time for provisioning duplicate or similar software can be reduced by copying the virtual image to a target machine, thereby eliminating the need to re-install duplicate or similar software on each target machine.

FIG. 1 illustrates an overall provisioning environment 100, in systems and methods for the execution, management, and monitoring of software provisioning, according to exemplary aspects of the present disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in or supported by the exemplary environment illustrated in FIG. 1. The provisioning environment 100 provides a unified provisioning environment, which comprehensively manages the tasks related to software provisioning.

In particular, the provisioning environment 100 can manage software provisioning using a hierarchy of commands. In exemplary embodiments, the hierarchy can include at least four levels of commands. The lowest level in the hierarchy can comprise distribution commands, which primarily handle base operating system specific tasks of provisioning. The second level can comprise profile commands, which associate a configuration file, such as a kickstart file for Linux or other operating system, with a distribution and optionally allow for customization. The third level comprises system commands, which associate remote systems that are involved with the provisioning of the software. The fourth level comprises repository commands, which address configurations and tasks related to updating the software, remote installation procedures, and optionally customizing the software.

The provisioning environment 100 provides several capabilities and advantages over the known provisioning solutions. For example, the present invention is capable of handling a variety of forms of installations, such as preboot execution environment (“PXE”), virtualization, re-installations, and image installations.

In exemplary aspects, the provisioning environment 100 enables integrating virtualization into a PXE provisioning infrastructure and provides several options to reinstall running machines as well. The provisioning environment 100 can integrate mirroring of package repositories with the provisioning process, so that a provisioning server may serve as a central mirror point of contact for all of an organization's software needs. In aspects, a set of remote mirrored repositories can automatically be used by provisioned systems without additional setup.

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary aspects the provisioning environment 100. The provisioning environment 100 can be applied to provisioning any form of software, such as Windows systems, UNIX systems, and Linux systems. In the exemplary description that follows, FIG. 1 is presented to explain the provisioning environment 100 for provisioning software, such as Linux, and Linux based software, such as Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux by Red Hat, Inc.

In provisioning of software such as Linux, many system administrators use what is known as the “kickstart” installation method. Kickstart files are files that specify the intended configuration of the software being provisioned. Kickstart files can be kept on a server and can be read by individual computers during the installation. This installation method allows the use of a single or relatively few standard kickstart files to install Linux on multiple machines, making it ideal for network and system administrators.

The kickstart file can be a simple text file, containing a list of items, each identified by a keyword. In general, a kickstart file can be edited with any text editor or word processor that can save files as ASCII text. One skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention may be applied to non-kickstart files in software provisioning. For example, configuration files such as AutoYAST Answer files used in Novell SuSe Linux and Sun Solaris Jumpstart files may also be used by the provisioning environment 100.

Typically, a kickstart file can be copied to the boot disk, or made available on the network. The network-based approach is most commonly used, as most kickstart installations for software provisioning, such as Linux systems, tend to be performed via a network using NES, FTP, or HTTP on networked computers. Administrators also find it desirable that kickstart installations can be performed using a local CD-ROM, or a local hard drive.

Using kickstart files, a system administrator can create a single file containing the parameters that are needed to complete a typical software installation. For example, kickstart files specify parameters related to: language selection; mouse configuration; keyboard selection; boot loader installation; disk partitioning; network configuration; NIS, LDAP, Kerberos, Hesiod, and Samba authentication; firewall configuration; and package selection.

According to exemplary aspects illustrated in FIG. 1, the provisioning environment 100 can include a provisioning server 102, a code repository 104 which provides access to distributions 106 and 108, a set of installation templates 110, a set of exception plugins 112, a helper client 114 running on target machines 116 in a network 115, a provisioning database 120 which comprises a distribution tree list 122 and template list 124. Each of these components will now be further described.

The provisioning server (from herein referred to as a “cobbler”) 102 is responsible for: serving as an extensible markup language remote procedure call (XMLRPC) handler, linking to or mirroring install distribution trees and a configuration database; hosting kickstart templates; hosting plugins; generating installation images, and the like. The cobbler server 102 can be implemented as software, such as Python code, installed on a boot server machine and provide a command line interface for configuration of the boot server. In addition, the cobbler server 102 can make itself available as a Python application programming interface (API) for use by higher level management software (not shown). The cobbler server 102 supports provisioning via PXE, image (ISO) installation, virtualization, re-provisioning. As will be described later, the last two modes are performed with the assistance of a helper client 114.

The code repository 104 is responsible for hosting distributions 106 and 108. The code repository 104 can be implemented using well known components of hardware and software. Additionally, the code repository 104 can include one or more repositories hosting distributions. The distributions 106 and 108 can include bundles of software that are already compiled and configured. The distributions 106 and 108 may be in the form of either rpm, deb, tgz, msi, exe formats, and the like. For example, as Linux distributions, the distributions 106 and 108 are bundles of software that comprise the Linux kernel, the non-kernel parts of the operating system, and assorted other software. The distributions 106 and 108 can take a variety of forms, from fully-featured desktop and server operating systems to minimal environments.

In exemplary aspects, the installation templates 110 are any data structure or processing element that can be combined with a set of installation configurations and processed to produce a resulting configuration file, such as a kickstart file.

In exemplary aspects, exception plugins 112 are software that interact with cobbler server 102 to customize the provisioning of software. In general, the exception plugins 112 are intended to address infrequent customization needs.

In exemplary aspects, the helper client (known as “koan”, which stands for “kickstart-over-a-network”) 114 can assist the cobbler server 102 during the provisioning processes. The koan 114 can allow for both network provisioning of new virtualized guests and destructive provisioning of any existing system. When invoked, the koan 114 can request profile information from a remote boot server that has been configured with the cobbler server 102. In some aspects, what the koan 114 does with the profile data depends on whether it was invoked with -virt or replace-self.

In exemplary aspects, the koan 114 can enable replacing running systems as well as installing virtualized profiles. The koan 114 can also be pushed out to systems automatically from the boot server. In some aspects, the koan client 114 is also written in Python code to accommodate a variety of operating systems, machine architectures, etc.

In exemplary aspects, the network 115 can include a number of the target machines 116. The target machines 116 can represent the particular machines to which software provisioning is directed. The target machines 116 can represent a wide variety of computing devices, such as personal computers, servers, laptop computers, personal mobile devices, and the like. In some aspects, the target machines 116 can represent distributed computing environments such as cloud computing environments. Although FIG. 1 shows several of the target machines 116, the provisioning environment 100 can be capable of managing a wide range environments, such as datacenters with thousands of machines or server pools with just a few machines. Additionally, the cobbler server 102 can be connected to multiple networks 115.

In exemplary aspects, the provisioning database 120 can serve as a data storage location for holding data used by the cobbler server 102. For example, as shown, the provisioning database 120 can comprise the distribution tree list 122 and the template list 124. The distribution tree list 122 can provide an inventory of the distributions 106 and 108 that are hosted or mirrored by the cobbler server 102. The template list 124 can provide an inventory of the templates 110 that are hosted by the cobbler server 102.

As noted above, the cobbler server 102 can manage provisioning using a hierarchical concept of distribution commands, profile commands, system commands, and repository commands. This framework enables the cobbler server 102 to abstract the differences between multiple provisioning types (installation, reinstallation, and virtualization) and allows installation of all three from a common platform. This hierarchy of commands also permits the cobbler server 102 to integrate software repositories 126 with the provisioning process, thus allowing systems to be configured as a mirror for software updates and third party content as well as distribution content.

Distributions can contain information about base operating system tasks, such as what kernel and initial ramdisk (“initrd”) are used in the provisioning, along with other information, such as required kernel parameters. Profiles associate one of the distributions 106 and 108 with a kickstart file and optionally customize it further, for example, using plugins 112. System commands associate a hostname, IP, or (machine access control) MAC with a distribution and optionally customize the profile further. Repositories contain update information, such as yum mirror information that the cobbler server 102 uses to mirror repository 104. The cobbler server 102 can also manage (generate) dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) configuration files using the templates 110.

In exemplary aspects, the cobbler server 102 can use a provisioning environment that is fully templated, allowing for kickstarts and PXE files to be customized by the user. The cobbler server 102 uses the concept of “profiles” as an intermediate step between the operating system and the installed system. A profile is a description of what a system does rather than the software to be installed. For instance, a profile might describe a virtual web server with X amount of RAM, Y amounts of disk space, ruling a Linux distribution Z, and with an answer file W.

In exemplary aspects, the cobbler server 102 can provide a command line interface to configure a boot server in which it is installed. For example, the format of the cobbler server 102 commands can be generally in the format of: cobbler command [subcommand][-arg1=][-arg2=]. Thus, a user can specify various aspects of software provisioning via a single interface, such as a command line interface or other known interface. Examples of exemplary cobbler commands can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/763,315, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008-0288938 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/763,333, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008-0288939, all assigned to Red Hat Corporation, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein, in their entirety, by reference.

According to exemplary aspects, a user can use various commands of the provisioning environment 100 to specify distributions and install trees hosted by the code repository 104, such as a distribution from the distributions 106 or 108. A user can add or import a distribution or import it from installation media or an external network location.

According to exemplary aspects, in order to import a distribution, the cobbler server 102 can auto-add distributions and profiles from remote sources, whether this is an installation media (such as a DVD), an NFS path, or an rsync mirror. When importing an rsync mirror, the cobbler server 102 can try to detect the distribution type and automatically assign kickstarts. By default in some embodiments, the cobbler server can provision by erasing the hard drive, setting up eth0 for DHCP, and using a default password. If this is undesirable, an administrator may edit the kickstart files in /etc/cobbler to do something else or change the kickstart setting after the cobbler server 102 creates the profile.

According to exemplary aspects, a user may map profiles to the distributions and map systems to the profiles using profile commands and systems commands of the provisioning environment 100. A profile associates a distribution to additional specialized options, such as a kickstart automation file. In the cobbler server 102, profiles are the unit of provisioning and at least one profile exists for every distribution to be provisioned. A profile might represent, for instance, a web server or desktop configuration.

According to exemplary aspects, a user can map systems to profiles using system commands. System commands can assign a piece of hardware with cobbler server 102 to a profile. Systems can be defined by hostname, Internet Protocol (IP) address, or machine access control (MAC) address. When available, use of the MAC address to assign systems can be preferred.

According to exemplary aspects, the user can map repositories and profiles using repository commands. Repository commands can address configurations and tasks related to updating the software, remote installation procedures, and optionally customizing the software. These repository commands can also specify mirroring of the provisioned software to remote servers. Repository mirroring can allow the cobbler server 102 to mirror not only the trees 106 and 108, but also optional packages, third party content, and updates. Mirroring can be useful for faster, more up-to-date installations and faster updates, or providing software on restricted networks. The cobbler server 102 can also include other administrative features, such as allowing the user to view their provisioning configuration or information tracking the status of a requested software installation.

According to exemplary aspects, a user can utilize commands to create a provisioning infrastructure from a distribution mirror. Then a default PXE configuration is created, so that by default, systems will PXE boot into a fully automated install process for that distribution. The distribution mirror can be a network rsync mirror or a mounted DVD location.

According to exemplary aspects, the administrator uses a local kernel and initrd file (already downloaded), and shows how profiles would be created using two different kickstarts—one for a web server configuration and one for a database server Then, a machine can be assigned to each profile.

According to exemplary aspects, a repo mirror can be set up for two repositories, and create a profile that will auto install those repository configurations on provisioned systems using that profile.

According to exemplary aspects, in addition to normal provisioning, the cobbler server 102 can support yet another option, called “enchant”. Enchant takes a configuration that has already been defined and applies it to a remote system that might not have the remote helper program installed. Users can use this command to replace a server that is being repurposed, or when no PXE environment can be created. Thus, the enchant option allows the remote the koan client 114 to be executed remotely from the cobbler server 102.

According to aspects, if the cobbler server 102 is configured to mirror certain repositories, the cobbler server 102 can then be used to associate profiles with those repositories. Systems installed under those profiles can be auto configured to use these repository mirrors in commands and, if supported, these repositories can be leveraged. This can be useful for a large install base, when fast installation and upgrades for systems are desired, or software not in a standard repository exists and provisioned systems desire to know about that repository.

According to exemplary aspects, the cobbler server 102 can also keep track of the status of kickstarting machines. For example, the “cobbler status” will show when the cobbler server 102 thinks a machine started kickstarting and when it last requested a file. This can be a desirable way to track machines that may have gone inactive during kickstarts. The cobbler server 102 can also make a special request in the post section of the kickstart to signal when a machine is finished kickstarting.

According to exemplary aspects, for certain commands, the cobbler server 102 will create new virtualized guests on a machine in accordance with orders from the cobbler server 102. Once finished, an administrator can use additional commands on the guest or other operations. The cobbler server 102 can automatically name domains based on their MAC addresses. For re-kickstarting, the cobbler server 102 can reprovision the system, deleting any current data and replacing it with the results of a network install.

According to exemplary aspects, the cobbler server 102 can configure boot methods for the provisioning requested by the user. For example, the cobbler server 102 can configure a PXE environment, such as a network card BIOS. Alternatively, the cobbler server 102 can compile and configure information for koan client 104. The cobbler server 102 can also optionally configure DHCP and DNS configuration information.

According to exemplary aspects, the cobbler server 102 can serve the request of the koan client 114. The koan client 114 can acknowledge the service of information of the cobbler server 102 and can then initiate installation of the software being provisioned. Additionally, the koan client 114 can either install the requested software, e.g., replace the existing operating system, or install a virtual machine.

FIG. 2 illustrates aspects of the provisioning environment 100 that allows the provisioning of virtual images, according to embodiments. In embodiments as shown, the cobbler server 102 can be coupled to a network 115 and a provisioning database 120 to provide provisioning processes and other actions related to provisioning for the network 115. While FIG. 2 illustrates one network 115 with exemplary components, one skilled in the art will realize that the cobbler server 102 can be coupled to multiple networks to provide provisioning processes and other actions related to provisioning.

As shown in FIG. 2, the network 115 can include a number of target machines 205. For example, the target machines 205 can include a group of server computers, such as blade servers. The target machines 205 can include computing systems such as servers, personal computers, laptop computers, etc. In embodiments, the target machines 205 can include hardware typically found in conventional computing systems (processors, memory, video cards, network interface cards, storage devices, and the like).

In embodiments, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to provide provisioning processes for software distributions utilizing provisioning objects as described above. In the provisioning processes for software distributions, the cobbler server 102 installs a particular software distribution on a target machine 205 utilizing the provisioning objects such as profiles and templates.

In embodiments, the provisioning objects can include all the data required by a cobbler server to perform the software provisioning processes, such as the process described above, supported by the cobbler server For example, the provisioning objects can include software distributions; configuration templates (templates for generating configuration files, such as kickstart files); distribution profile information (mapping a distribution to profile; a configuration template or a configuration file, and additional preferences, such as kernel options, template variables, or virtual machine settings); target machine information (information representing the mapping of a physical piece of hardware, plus hardware specific customizations, to a profile that it should run); repos information (information representing external or internal software repositories stored on the cobbler server); images (such as distributions representing an undefined executable image (like “memtest”); a virtual machine to be cloned, or an ISO file for use in installing a virtual machine); and the like.

In embodiments, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to maintain a library 210 of virtual images 215 and configured to perform provisioning processes utilizing virtual images 215 from the library 210 on the target machines 205. Each virtual image 215 can be a disk image of software that has been previously installed according to metadata. As such, the virtual image 215 can consist of the bits of the installed software. The software, contained in the virtual image 215, can include any number and type of applications and portions of an OS to support the applications. The cobbler server 102 can be configured to maintain the virtual images 215 in the library 210, a location of the virtual images 215 in the library 210 (if the virtual images 215 are stored remotely), or combinations thereof. The cobbler server 102 can be configured to maintain the library 210 in any type of storage device or system (CD, DVD, hard drive, portable storage memory, database etc.) whether local to the cobbler server 102 or remotely located.

In embodiments, the metadata, associated with a virtual image 215, can include parameters such as types of hardware or resources associated with the virtual image (processors, memory, storage, network interfaces, etc.), amount of hardware or resources associated with the virtual image (the amount of memory associated with the virtual image, the amount storage associated with the virtual image, etc.), configuration of the hardware or resources (the network settings for the virtual image, etc.), and the like. These parameters, contained in the metadata, can represent the parameters utilized to create the virtual image 215 and the parameters required to provision the virtual image 215 on a target machine 205.

In embodiments, to support provisioning the virtual images 215, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to maintain a set of virtual image records 220. The set of virtual image records 220 contains one or more virtual image records 225 associated with each virtual image 215 in the library 210. A virtual image record 225 can be configured to contain an identification of a particular virtual image 215, with which it is associated, and the metadata associated with the particular virtual image 215. Additionally, a particular virtual image 215 can be associated with multiple virtual image records 225. Each of the multiple virtual image records 225, associated with a particular virtual image 215, can contain different metadata representing different parameters utilized to create the particular virtual image 215 and the different parameters required to provision the particular virtual image 215 on a target machine 205. The cobbler server 102 can be configured to utilize the set of virtual image records 220 for provisioning the virtual image 215 on the target machines 205.

In embodiments, the virtual images 215 contained in the library 210 can originate from a variety of sources. The cobbler server 102 can be configured to generate the virtual images 215 and the virtual image records 225 associated with the generated virtual images 215. For example, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to communicate with a storage device 230. The storage device 230 can be any type of storage device or system (CD, DVD, hard drive, portable storage memory, database etc.) whether local to the cobbler server 102 or remotely located. To generate the virtual image 215, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to select a particular software distribution to install and determine the metadata for the virtual image 215. The metadata can be based on the parameters required by the particular software distribution. Once selected, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to install the particular software distribution on the storage device 230 according to the metadata.

In embodiments, after installation of the particular software distribution, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to copy the data (e.g. image of the bits) for the installed software distribution and configured to store the copy in the library 210 as the virtual image 215. Alternatively, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to store a location of the virtual image 215 in the library 210, if the virtual image is stored remotely. Likewise, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to store the metadata as a virtual image record 225 in the set of virtual image records 220.

In the embodiments as described above, the cobbler server 102 can generate the virtual image 215. Also, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to receive a virtual image 215 from an external source and store the virtual image 215 in the library 210. Also, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to receive metadata or a virtual image record 225 from an external source in order to generate a virtual image 215 or to associate with a received virtual image 215.

In embodiments, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to provision any of the virtual images 215 stored in the library 210 to any of the target machines 205. To achieve this, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to select a virtual image 215 from the library 210. After selecting the virtual image 215, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to determine the associated virtual image record 225 from the set of virtual image records 220. To determine the associated virtual image record 225, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to search the set of virtual image records 220 in order to locate the virtual image records 225 that contain the identification of the selected virtual image 215.

In embodiments, after selecting the virtual image 215 and determining the associated virtual image record 225, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to provided the selected virtual image 215 and the associated virtual image record 225 to the target machine 205 subject to the provisioning. To provide both, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to instruct the koan client 114 to retrieve the virtual image 215 and the associated image record 225. Likewise, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to provide the virtual image 215 and associated virtual image record 225 directly to the koan client 114.

In embodiments, after the virtual image 215 and the associated virtual image record 225 has been provided, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to instruct the koan client 114 to instantiate the virtual image 215 on the target machine 205. The koan client 114 can be configured to examine the associated virtual image record 225 to determine the metadata for the virtual image 215. Then, the koan client 114 can be configured to copy the virtual image 215 to a storage device that meets the parameters of the metadata. Additionally, the koan client 114 can configure the target machine 205, as necessary, according to the metadata of the virtual image record 225 in order to facilitate proper operation of the virtual image 215.

In the embodiments, as described above, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to operate in conjunction with the koan client 114 to provision the virtual image 215. Additionally, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to provision the virtual image, independently. To achieve this, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to examine the associated virtual image record 225 to determine the metadata for the virtual image 215. Then, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to copy the virtual image 215 to a storage device that meets the parameters of the metadata. Additionally, the cobbler server 102 can configure the target machine 205, as necessary, according to the metadata of the virtual image record 225 in order to facilitate proper operation of the virtual image 215.

In embodiments as described above, the virtual image 215 can be instantiated according to the virtual image record 225, as stored in the set of virtual image records 220. Additionally, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to alter the metadata of the virtual image record 225 prior to instantiating the virtual image 215. As such, the cobbler server 102 can tailor the instantiation of the virtual image 215 for the target machines 205.

In embodiments, the cobbler server 102 can initiate provisioning a virtual image 215 upon the occurrence of a number of events. The cobbler server 102 can be configured to receive a request to provision a particular virtual image 215. The request can originate from any source such as a target machine 205, a user of a target machine 205, an operator of the cobbler server 102, or any other source. Additionally, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to automatically initiate provisioning a virtual image 215. For example, the cobbler server 102 can initiate provisioning of a virtual image 215 when a new target machine 205 is added to the network 115, when a target machine 205 experiences errors or catastrophic failure, and the like. For instance, the cobbler server 102 can provide a virtual image 215, comprising a basic OS and applications, so that the new target machine 205 will include basic software to operate.

In embodiments, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to associate the virtual images 215 and the associated virtual image records 225 with other provisioning objects. For example, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to associate a particular virtual image 215 and associated virtual image records 225 with the a system record for a particular target machine 205. As such, when a provisioning process is initiated for the virtual image 215 associated with the system record, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to utilize the information in the system record (identification of the target machine 205, resources of the target machine 205, etc.) in the provisioning process.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary diagram of hardware and other resources that can be incorporated in a computing system 300 configured to communicate with the network 115, and execute the cobbler server 102 according to embodiments. In embodiments as shown, the computing system 300 can comprise a processor 302 communicating with memory 304, such as electronic random access memory, operating under control of or in conjunction with operating system 308. Operating system 308 can be, for example, a distribution of the Linux™ operating system, the Unix™ operating system, or other open-source or proprietary operating system or platform. Processor 302 also communicates with the provisioning database 120, such as a database stored on a local hard drive. While illustrated as a local database in computing system 300, the provisioning database 120 can be separate from the computing system 300 and the cobbler server 102 can be configured to communicate with the remote provisioning database 120.

Processor 302 further communicates with network interface 306, such as an Ethernet or wireless data connection, which in turn communicates with one or more networks 115, such as the Internet or other public or private networks. Processor 302 also communicates with the provisioning database 120, and the cobbler server 102, to execute control logic and perform the virtual image processes described above and below.

As illustrated, the cobbler server 102 can be implemented as a software application or program capable of being executed by a conventional computer platform. Likewise, the cobbler server 102 can also be implemented as a software module or program module capable of being incorporated in other software applications and programs. In either case, the cobbler server 102 can be implemented in any type of conventional proprietary or open-source computer language.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram for virtual image processes in the provisioning environment 100, according to embodiments of the present teachings. In 402, the process can begin. In 404, the cobbler server 102 can optionally generate one or more virtual images 215 and store the virtual images 215 or a location of the virtual image in the library 210. For example, the cobbler server 102 can select a group of software (OS, applications, etc.) to install and determine the metadata for the virtual image 215. The metadata can be based on the parameters required by the particular software distribution. Once selected, the cobbler server 102 can install the particular software distribution on the storage device 230 according to the metadata.

After installation of the particular software distribution, the cobbler server 102 can copy the data (e.g. image of the bits) for the installed software distribution and store the copy in the library 210 as the virtual image 215. Likewise, the cobbler server 102 can store the metadata as a virtual image record 225 in the set of virtual image records 220.

In 406, the cobbler server 102 can optionally receive one or more virtual images 215 from external sources and store the virtual images 215 in the library 210. For example, the cobbler server 102 can receive a virtual image 215 from an external source and store the virtual image 215 in the library 210. Also, the cobbler server 102 can receive metadata or a virtual image record 225 from an external source in order to generate a virtual image 215 or associate with a received virtual image 215.

In 408, the cobbler server 102 can initiate provisioning a virtual image 215 on a target machine 205. The cobbler server 102 can initiate provisioning a virtual image 215 upon the occurrence of a number of events. For example, the cobbler server 102 can receive a request to provision a particular virtual image 215. The request can originate from any source such as a target machine 205, a user of a target machine 205, an operator of the cobbler server 102, or any other source. Additionally, the cobbler server 102 can automatically initiate provisioning a virtual image 215.

In 410, the cobbler server 102 can determine a virtual image record 225 associated with the virtual image 215 to be provisioned. For example, to determine the associated virtual image record 225, the cobbler server 102 can search the set of virtual image records 220 in order to locate the virtual image records 225 that contain the identification of the virtual image 215.

In 412, the cobbler server 102 can provide the virtual image 215 to the target machine 205. For example, the cobbler server 102 can instruct the koan client 114 to retrieve the virtual image 215 and associated virtual image record 225. Likewise, the cobbler server 102 can be configured to provide the virtual image 215 and associated virtual image record 225 directly to the koan client 114. Additionally, the cobbler server 102 can provide the virtual image 215 to the target machine without utilizing the koan client 114.

In 414, the cobbler server 102 can instantiate the virtual image 215 on the target machine 205. For example, the cobbler server 102 can instruct the koan client 114 to instantiate the virtual image 215 on the target machine 205. The koan client 114 can examine the associated virtual image record 225 to determine the metadata for the virtual image 215. Then, the koan client 114 can copy the virtual image 215 to a storage device that meets the parameters of the metadata. Additionally, the koan client 114 can configure the target machine 205, as necessary, according to the metadata of the virtual image record 225 in order to facilitate proper operation of the virtual image 215.

Additionally, the cobbler server 102 can instantiate the virtual image 215, independently. The cobbler server 102 can examine the associated virtual image record 225 to determine the metadata for the virtual image 215. Then, the cobbler server 102 can to copy the virtual image 215 to a storage device that meets the parameters of the metadata. Additionally, the cobbler server 102 can configure the target machine 205, as necessary, according to the metadata of the virtual image record 225 in order to facilitate proper operation of the virtual image 215.

In 416, the process can end, but the process can return to any point and repeat.

While the invention has been described with reference to the exemplary embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications to the described embodiments without departing from the true spirit and scope. The terms and descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. In particular, although the method has been described by examples, the steps of the method may be performed in a different order than illustrated or simultaneously. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” As used herein, the term “one or more of” with respect to a listing of items such as, for example, A and B, means A alone, B alone, or A and B. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these and other variations are possible within the spirit and scope as defined in the following claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: initiating, by a provisioning server, provisioning a virtual image to a target machine, wherein the virtual image is a disk image of a software distribution; determining, by the provisioning server, a virtual image record associated with the virtual image, wherein the virtual image record is selected from a plurality of virtual image records associated with the virtual image, wherein each of the plurality of virtual image records comprises metadata that is different from other virtual image records associated with the virtual image, wherein the metadata of each virtual image record comprises a parameter for instantiating the virtual image; providing, by the provisioning server, the virtual image to the target machine; instantiating, by the provisioning server, the virtual image on the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record; and copying, by the provisioning server, the virtual image to a storage device of the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein initiating provisioning the virtual image comprises: receiving a request to provision the virtual image.
 3. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising: modifying the metadata of the virtual image record prior to instantiating the virtual image.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein instantiating the virtual image comprises: copying the virtual image to a storage device of the target machine; and configuring the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the virtual image to the target machine comprises instructing a helper client on the target machine to retrieve the virtual image and the virtual image record, and wherein instantiating the virtual image based on the virtual image record comprises instructing the helper client to instantiate the virtual image based on the metadata in the virtual image record.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata further comprises a storage device requirement for the virtual disk image, wherein the storage device requirement comprises at least one of a type of storage device required by the virtual disk image or an amount of storage required by the virtual disk image, and wherein copying the virtual image to a storage device of the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record comprises selecting a storage device that meets the storage device requirement for the virtual disk image.
 7. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising: creating the virtual image, wherein creating the virtual image comprises: installing the software distribution on a storage device; and creating the disk image from a plurality of bits of the installed software distribution on the storage device.
 8. A system for comprising: a network interface to a network of target machines; and a provisioning server, communicating with the network interface, the provisioning server to: initiate provisioning a virtual image to a target machine in the network of target machines, wherein the virtual image is a disk image of a software distribution; determine a virtual image record associated with the virtual image, wherein the virtual image record is selected from a plurality of virtual image records associated with the virtual image, wherein each of the plurality of virtual image records comprises metadata that is different from other virtual image records associated with the virtual image, wherein the metadata of each virtual image record comprises a parameter for instantiating the virtual image; provide the virtual image to the target machine; instantiate the virtual image on the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record; and copy the virtual image to a storage device of the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein initiating provisioning the virtual image comprises: receiving a request to provision the virtual image.
 10. The system of claim 8, the provisioning server further to: modify the metadata of the virtual image record prior to instantiating the virtual image.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein instantiating the virtual image comprises: copying the virtual image to a storage device of the target machine; and configuring the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein providing the virtual image to the target machine comprises instructing a helper client on the target machine to retrieve the virtual image and the virtual image record, and wherein instantiating the virtual image based on the virtual image record comprises instructing the helper client to instantiate the virtual image based on the metadata in the virtual image record.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein the metadata further comprises a storage device requirement for the virtual disk image, wherein the storage device requirement comprises at least one of a type of storage device required by the virtual disk image or an amount of storage required by the virtual disk image, and wherein copying the virtual image to a storage device of the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record comprises selecting a storage device that meets the storage device requirement for the virtual disk image.
 14. The system of claim 8, the provisioning server further to: create the virtual image, wherein creating the virtual image comprises: installing the software distribution on a storage device; and creating the disk image from a plurality of bits of the installed software distribution on the storage device.
 15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, having instructions stored therein, which when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising: initiating, by the provisioning server, provisioning a virtual image to a target machine, wherein the virtual image is a disk image of a software distribution; determining, by the provisioning server, a virtual image record associated with the virtual image, wherein the virtual image record is selected from a plurality of virtual image records associated with the virtual image, wherein each of the plurality of virtual image records comprises metadata that is different from other virtual image records associated with the virtual image, wherein the metadata of each virtual image record comprises a parameter for instantiating the virtual image; providing, by the provisioning server, the virtual image to the target machine; instantiating, by the provisioning server, the virtual image on the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record; and copying, by the provisioning server, the virtual image to a storage device of the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein initiating provisioning the virtual image comprises: receiving a request to provision the virtual image.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, the operations further comprising: modifying the metadata of the virtual image record prior to instantiating the virtual image.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein instantiating the virtual image comprises: copying the virtual image to a storage device of the target machine; and configuring the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein providing the virtual image to the target machine comprises instructing a helper client on the target machine to retrieve the virtual image and the virtual image record, and wherein instantiating the virtual image based on the virtual image record comprises instructing the helper client to instantiate the virtual image based on the metadata in the virtual image record.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the metadata further comprises a storage device requirement for the virtual disk image, wherein the storage device requirement comprises at least one of a type of storage device required by the virtual disk image or an amount of storage required by the virtual disk image, and wherein copying the virtual image to a storage device of the target machine based on the metadata of the virtual image record comprises selecting a storage device that meets the storage device requirement for the virtual disk image.
 21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, the operations further comprising: creating the virtual image, wherein creating the virtual image comprises: installing the software distribution on a storage device; and creating the disk image from a plurality of bits of the installed software distribution on the storage device. 